Eddie Kurjak stood tall along the fence.
The Longmont senior eyed the orange bar that sat six-feet and 11-inches above the ground. He loosened his arms and briefly leaned forward, as if to get a better glimpse of the task at hand.
Meanwhile several dozen spectators began to gravitate towards the north end of the track at Broomfield High where the high jump was reaching its climax. They all wanted to witness the fluid magic of someone leaping and twisting and soaring over something higher than most of them could reach with their arms raised high.
They all wanted to witness something special.
And with the bar now raised to 6-11, this certainly fit the criteria of something you don't see every day.
Kurjak wound up, taking big leaps towards the bar. Each step was faster than the previous. And then - liftoff.
Spectators anxiously held their breath as he drifted through the air. He thrust his head back and kicked his feet up, soaring over the bar. In the back-bending maneuver, he briefly resembled a lowercase n.
When Kurjak crashed on the mat and the bar remained unscathed above him, the entire north-end of the track erupted.
6-11.
The clearance was not only a Colorado No.1, and a US No. 8.
And that wasn't the only exciting performance that came out of the Broomfield Shootout Saturday.